Updated on 9 October 2020
The events sector is one of the new restrictions announced on 5 October by the Paris Prefecture of Police to limit the spread of the pandemic. " To avoid massive population concentrations, I have taken the following measures the decision to close trade fairs and exhibition centres and events held under large tents "declared Police Prefect Didier Lallement. From Tuesday 6 October, trade fairs and exhibitions will therefore be banned from Paris and its inner suburbs for a period of 15 days. While this provision affects professional meetings organised around stands and places for exchanges with exhibitors, it does not apply to congresses. For example, the notaries' conference remains scheduled for 8 October, while the SME trade fair cannot be held on 12 and 13 October.
" Of the thirty or so events scheduled on Viparis sites, around ten are affected by this ban. "said Pablo Nakhlé CerrutiCEO of Viparis, speaking to BFM Business on Tuesday 6 October. The operator of the capital's main business meeting venues also tweeted that, " since the start of the academic year, we have received tens of thousands of people at all our sites, in very good quality sanitary conditions" .
Interviewed by the Public Sénat television channel on 7 October, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State for Tourism, is aiming for a recovery in activity in the near future. It's important for trade shows, business fairs and seminars to be able to take place. " I hope that we can work on protocols that will enable this sector to resume its activity, if only in B2B, i.e. for all business customers.he added.. As far as trade fairs for the general public are concerned, we can see that there are still some difficulties to begin with. "
However, the announcement that four new cities - Lille, Grenoble, Lyon and Saint-Etienne - would be placed in a "maximum alert zone", in addition to Paris and Marseille, has also led to new restrictions on professional events. The Rhône, Loire, Isère and Nord prefectures in turn announced the closure of exhibition venues from 10 October.
More broadly, events involving more than 1,000 people are banned in scarlet cities. this rule does not apply within companies "said Didier Lallement. Nevertheless, teleworking is still encouraged by the public authorities. " In reinforced and maximum alert zones, employers and employees must, as far as possible, teleworkingthe French Minister for Employment, Elisabeth Borne, called for on 5 October. This is a collective effort on the part of companies, but a necessary one to reduce the circulation of the virus. "This invitation was repeated the following day in an interview on the France Inter morning show: " those who can telework must do so ". " We had 20 % teleworking employees in June, and I think that's going to increase, so we'll have the September figures soon. Many companies telework 3 days out of 5. "added the Minister of Labour.
Among other measures, while bars and sports clubs will have to close their doors, room service in hotel bars is not affected by these restrictions and restaurants will also be able to stay open by adopting a stricter health protocol, inviting customers to take their temperature, paying at the table and limiting the number of guests at the same table.
